Honda

Honda Service and Honda Repair
Honda is the 6th largest automobile manufacturer in the world as well as the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. In August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the 4th largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Currently, Honda is the second largest manufacturer in Japan behind Toyota and ahead of Nissan.

We performs all major and minor repairs, service, and diagnosis (including electrical and driveability issues) on the following Hondas:

Honda Maintenance
Starting with your first oil change and continuing every 3,000 miles, your Honda car has regularly scheduled maintenance that needs to be performed according to the factory’s recommended schedule. These schedules are provided by the actual engineers who helped design your car, truck, van or SUV and are designed to make your Honda run smoothly and for hundreds of thousands of miles. Your owner’s manual usually has these listed out by mileage and can range from a very minor service to a major service.

From a young age, Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda (本田 宗一郎, Honda Sōichirō) had a great interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at a Japanese tuning shop, Art Shokai, where he tuned cars and entered them in races. A self-taught engineer, he later worked on a piston design which he hoped to sell to Toyota. The first drafts of his design were rejected, and Soichiro worked painstakingly to perfect the design, even going back to school and pawning his wife’s jewelry for collateral. Eventually, he won a contract with Toyota and built a factory to construct pistons for them, which was destroyed in an earthquake. Due to a gas shortage during World War II, Honda was unable to use his car, and his novel idea of attaching a small engine to his bicycle attracted much curiosity. He then established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Calling upon 18,000 bicycle shop owners across Japan to take part in revitalizing a nation torn apart by war, Soichiro received enough capital to engineer his first motorcycle, the Honda Cub. This marked the beginning of Honda Motor Company, which would grow a short time later to be the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964.

The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck.[citation needed] Powered by a small 356 cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket.[citation needed] The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car. Its chain driven rear wheels point to Honda’s motorcycle origins.

Honda’s global lineup consists of the Fit, Civic, Accord, Insight, CR-V, Odyssey and S2000. An early proponent of developing vehicles to cater to different needs and markets worldwide, Honda’s lineup varies by country and may feature vehicles exclusive to that region. A few examples are the latest Acura TL luxury sedan and the Ridgeline, Honda’s first light-duty pickup truck. Both were engineered primarily in North America and are exclusively produced and sold there.

The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda’s vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.

The 2006 Ridgeline was a reintroduction of the concept of a Uni-Body truck. Earlier examples of this concept are the Subaru Brat and Baja, Volkswagen Rabbit pick-up, and Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp.

Honda increased global production in September 2008 to meet demand for small cars in the U.S. and emerging markets. The company is shuffling U.S. production to keep factories busy and boost car output, while building fewer minivans and sport utility vehicles as light truck sales fall.

Honda produces the Insight, an affordable hybrid electric vehicle that competes with Toyota Prius. Its first entrance into the pickup segment, the lightduty Ridgeline, won Truck of the Year from Motor Trend magazine in 2006 (also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won Car of the Year from the magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend honors).

The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooters, robots, jets and jet engines, ATV, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies. Honda’s line of luxury cars are branded Acura in North America, Hondura in the Honduras and Hongda in China. More recently they have ventured into mountain bikes.

Honda is the 6th largest automobile manufacturer in the world as well as the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. As of August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the 4th largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Currently, Honda is the second largest manufacturer in Japan behind Toyota and ahead of Nissan.

Honda is headquartered in 1-1, Minami-Aoyama Nichome, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland. American Honda Motor Co. is based in Torrance, California. Honda Canada Inc. is headquartered in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, and is building new corporate headquarters in Markham, Ontario, scheduled to relocate in 2008. Hero Honda, a joint venture between India’s Hero Group and Honda, is the largest manufacturer of two wheelers in the world. Honda of Canada Manufacturing is based in Alliston, Ontario. Honda has also created joint ventures around the world, such as Honda Siel Cars India Ltd, Hero Honda Motorcycles India Ltd, Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda Automobile Company in China and Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan.

With high fuel prices and a weak US economy in June 2008, Honda has reported a 1% sales increase while its rivals including the Detroit Big Three and Toyota have reported double-digit losses. Analysts have attributed this to two main factors. First, Honda’s product lineup consists of mostly small to mid-size, highly fuel-efficient vehicles. Secondly, over the last ten years, Honda has designed its factories to be flexible, in that they can be easily retooled to produce any Honda model that may be in-demand at the moment. Honda’s sales were up almost 20 percent from the same month last year. The Civic and the Accord were in the top five list of sales.

Honda and Toyota, two of the strongest vehicle companies in the world were still not immune to the Global financial crisis of 2008, as these companies reduced their profitability forecasts. The economic crisis has been spreading to other important players in the vehicle related industries as well.

Acura is the luxury car division of Honda in the United States. Acura was created in 1986 and marketed in the US the same year. Honda is credited with being the first Japanese company to introduce a luxury car into the US market. The success & popularity has increased to this day with these cars, like their Honda counterparts, known to run for 100’s of thousands of miles.

We perform all major and minor repairs, diagnosis (including electrical) on the following Acuras:

•CL
•CSX
•Integra
•Legend
•MDX
•NSX
•RDX
•RL
•TL
•TSX
•Vigor

Acura Maintenance
Acura’s have all factory recommended services listed in the owner’s manual of your vehicle. If you do not have one or can’t find it, feel free to give us a call to find out what services your vehicle may need or simply bring your car, truck or SUV in for a complete check up. We always perform a full safety inspection to ensure your car is in excellent shape to get the most out of your investment.

Acura History
Source: Acura
Since 1986, Acura has consistently raised the performance standards for luxury cars, from performance coupes and sedans to the MDX sport-utility vehicle and NSX exotic sports car. The performance luxury division of the American Honda Motor Company, Acura is renowned for its groundbreaking technologies, superior engineering and aggressive styling. And above all, the Acura brand is celebrated for its unsurpassed quality. Every vehicle is built upon the premise that integrity breeds excellence. And this ethos extends beyond its workings in the automobile industry. From its sponsorship of sporting events to its participation in community affairs, Acura is committed to fostering many modes of performance.

After a decade of research and development, Acura launched its first model, the Legend. Acura was the first Japanese luxury brand to appear in the U.S. market, and since its arrival it has offered the luxury car world a consistently appealing combination of precision, performance and comfort.

The Legend sedan, the first Acura, appeared in 1986. Since then, the Acura lineup has grown to serve a wide range of drivers who share a common interest in luxury and performance. A large part of the success of the Legend can be attributed to the fact that it set a new standard for luxury based on qualities that were rare in luxury cars of the day, such as precise handling, responsive powertrains and excellent road manners. In this respect, Acura has had a significant effect on the way people think about luxury cars. Shortly thereafter, the Acura Legend sedan was joined by the Acura Legend coupe and the Acura Integra sport coupes and sedans. The Integra featured attractive contours, high performance potential and outstanding engineering credentials at a competitive price. Its extensive technological innovations, crisp handling and everyday practicality made it the favorite of a generation of enthusiast drivers.

In late 1990, the exotic Acura NSX sport coupe arrived to great fanfare, bringing a host of new technologies to the automotive world. Motor Trend called it the ‘best sports car ever built.’ The aluminum bodied, mid-engine supercar redefined the exotic sports car. Here was a two-seater with the performance potential of traditional European exotics but could also be driven every day in complete comfort and with utter reliability.

In 1991, the Acura Legend coupe won Motor Trend’s prestigious Import Car of the Year trophy. The same year, the Integra took the laurels as one of Car & Driver’s Ten Best, and the Acura Vigor sport sedan was introduced, bridging the gap between the sporty Integra and the luxurious Legend.

The groundbreaking Acura MDX sport-utility vehicle made its debut in 2000. Conceived and developed at a Honda R&D facility in Ohio, the Acura MDX is built in North America. The 265-hp V-6 engine and a custom-developed 4-wheel drive system make the MDX uniquely qualified to travel both the freeways and the back roads with equal confidence. Shortly after its introduction, the MDX won the prestigious Motor Trend ‘2001 Sport/Utility of the Year’ award.

In 2001, the streamlined Acura RSX sports coupe was introduced. It was the first Acura to employ the i-VTEC™ system, which delivers flexibility, efficiency and LEV-II (Low Emission Vehicle) rated emissions. The 160-hp RSX shared its debut with the even sportier RSX Type-S, which employs a more sophisticated i-VTEC system to help wrest 200 peak horsepower from the 2.0-liter LEV-II engine. The RSX Type-S arrived on the market with an exclusive short-throw 6-speed manual transmission.

Performance enthusiasts across the country were forced to reprioritize their fantasies with the April 2003 introduction of the 2004 Acura TSX sports sedan. The 200-hp TSX, available with Sequential SportShift™ 5-speed automatic or close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission, was quickly recognized as a 4-door antidote to the compromises of settling down.

In October of 2003, an even higher form of performance arrived with the debut of the all-new 2004 TL. From its class-leading 270-horsepower, 3.2-liter engine to the bold, sleek lines of its redesigned exterior, the new TL redefines modern luxury. Inside, plush leather seats and an impressive list of technologies fill the instrument panel, including HandsFreeLink™ with Bluetooth® wireless technology and the Acura/ELS® Premium 8-speaker Surround Sound System with DVD-Audio and DTS CD 6-disc Changer.

Now, the all-new 2005 RL is making history by redefining the luxury performance sedan. With a 300-horsepower, V-6, VTEC engine, it boasts the most powerful Acura engine to date. Its revolutionary Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD™) system is the world’s most advanced all-wheel-drive platform, which makes maneuvering and cornering more stable and precise. And the all-new RL is North America’s first and only automobile to feature a telematics system with real-time traffic that displays traffic updates 24 hours a day in select metropolitan areas.

Acura In America
Acura’s penchant for building high performance, innovative and meticulously crafted vehicles began just under 20 years ago, in 1986. With nearly a decade of research and development to pull from, Acura introduced the Legend to the US. It was the first Japanese luxury car on the market, and its debut combined the best of the best-the handling virtues, performance and comfort features that grace upscale European and America luxury marques, and the reliability, quality and user-friendly design drivers expect from Japanese automobiles.

Innovation reached a historic peak when the NSX debuted in 1990. With it came Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC™), the use of a hand-assembled all-aluminum body, a drive-by-wire throttle, and a 4-channel Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS).

Later that same year, the Acura Integra debuted. It was modestly priced, yet filled with technological innovations that would come to distinguish the Acura brand as an innovator. Its racecar style performance would also set the pace among enthusiasts, with its good-looks, crisp-handling yet reliable sports performance.

Excellence has enjoyed several incarnations since then. The RL was introduced in 1996 in honor of Acura’s 10th anniversary. Hailed as their flagship, the RL was well received as a technologically advanced touring sedan.

From its debut in 2001, the MDX introduced the notion an SUV could have the road feel of a performance luxury car. And it worked. A couple years later, the TSX was born, and it immediately caught the eye of those wanting the space and safety of a sedan, but the power and performance of a sports car. The TSX gave them both.

2003 brought the redesign of the popular TL. Its new incarnation struck a chord with the tech-savvy consumer, featuring innovations like Bluetooth and DVD-Audio. And in 2004, the all-new 2005 RL made its much-anticipated arrival with the most powerful Acura engine to date, the revolutionary Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD™)-the world’s most advanced all-wheel-drive system, and North America’s first real-time traffic feature. The RL’s myriad of technological innovations are, indeed, proof that the luxury performance sedan was truly reinvented.